Sorrento/Capri

I decide to go here based on a Food Network special. We got started late out of Rome due to our fun experience renting a car. You just don't do it during holiday. One of the local car agencies ended up have a car that we could rent and drop off at the Rome airport. We thought that it would be good to rent a GPS since we weren't sure where we were going. I didn't come with instructions, so we were wingin' it. To make a long story short, we got going and then it took up back to were we started. We finally got the directions to get out of town and that was the last time we tried to use it.

It took us a little long than we thought to get to Sorrento. We ended up just stopping short and asking for directions. The further south you go, the less English they speak. The traffic was horrific and scooters everywhere. In Italy, there aren't any real law for motorcycles/scooters. They pretty much do what they want. I was hoping that would still would be holding our reservations at the hotel. We finally found a parking garage and walked down to the hotel. We started telling the guy at the desk our dilemma and he just said, "You're on vacation. We can handle the paperwork when your ready." Holy Cow! You never hear anything like that. That just made the trip worth it. Our hotel was at the end of that main Piazza drag. They close the road to travel and people just walk around, eat, window shop. We love it.

The next morning we got up to catch the boat to Capri. The line was long, so we opted for the speed boat option. It gets you there in about 30 minutes. On the boat, this guy was walking around looking for people to take his tour. We decide that it would be worth it since we had no clue where we were going. It allowed us to talk with other English speaking people.

We started off going up to Anacapri (means above Capri). On the island only buses and golf cart type vehicles are allowed. While on the bus, he (the guide, Jerry) pointed out that the only way people could get to Anacapri was a set of stairs that I think the Greeks build. There around 8,000. I don't know if many people used them. Once in Anacapri, we took a chairlift to the top of the island. You can see all sides. It was a hazy day, so we could see very far. On one side you can see the Fraglioni rocks of Capri. On the way up you look into people's backyards that are terraced on the side of the hill. We had a light lunch that Jerry suggested. (It was quite over priced.) Then onto Capri. Really the only thing there is shopping. I was on the hunt to find Capris and handmade sandals. The capris were way expensive but I did find the sandals. You pick your style and color and come back in an hour. I would probably never spend that kind of money on another sandal. There is a main plaza, that anyone who is anyone, wants to be recognized here. We didn't see anyone important. There were more famous designer name stores. It was extremely hot and we went to ride the Funigular railway. They pack you down this tunnel to get into this car to ride down the hill. I couldn't help but think about slaves being herded into ships. It was HOT! Luckily, its only a 5 minute ride. We hoped on the boat and back to Sorrento. We went back to the hotel to let our clothes air out in the air conditioning. This was the only place that the air conditioning got cold.

Now by this time in the trip, I was ready for a piece of meat. Carbs will only take up so far. Meat is expensive, so they use lamb or pork. We found a restaurant on the main Piazza that served hamburgers. They come in pairs, two small burgers. They were wonderful! Before we ate, one thing that Capri is known for is lemons. There is a monastery that makes perfume from them and other natural ingredients. I looked for it on Capri and they were closed, but they had a store in Sorrento. So I bought a small bottle of perfume. We finished the night by just walking around window shopping.